Outdoor Bar Furniture

My outdoor bar furniture is made of a combination of Western Red Cedar,
Corrugated Tin, 3/4" Plywood, Ceramic tile, and a couple of old indoor bar
stools. This bar design allows for occasional rain or moisture
contact, but this bar should not be left out in the open air conditions for
extended periods of time.

Outdoor Bar Furniture

Objectives: Design a bar to be used under a patio cover that will
be able to withstand occasional moisture from rain or heavy fog. This
bar design should reflect the surroundings of south central Texas -
corrugated tin and cedar are common materials used in many rural structures,
and the painted Mexican tiles used on the bar top are also common decor.

Diagrams A and B show the outside
dimensions of this outdoor bar.

Front View - (A)

Side View - (B)

The view of the back of the bar (C) shows two under bar
surfaces, the work surface and the lower deck. The
lower deck is designed to hold an ice chest full of beer or other
drinks. The work surface is for preparing drinks to be served
on the bar top.

The work surface is not attached to the bar. It rests
on two pieces of metal angle (or wood) attached to either side of the
bar. The work surface is made from a piece of 3/4"
plywood trimmed in the front with a piece of 1x2 oak. It is
designed to be removed easily for cleaning.

The lower deck surface is made from three pressure treated 2x4s
bolted to two sections of 1.5" metal angle attached to either side of
the bottom of the inside of the lower bar. Use one 2" x 3/8"
carriage bolt with nut and washer on each end of the three 2x4s (see
diagram C and E).

Back View - (C)

The diagram below (D) shows the basic framing of the
bar. The offset 2x4 framing provides a nailer for the corrugated
tin at the top and bottom of the outside of the bar (see A, B
and C).

You can optionally add 3/8" plywood behind the corrugated tin (not
shown) to provide additional support for the bar frame and tin.

Basic Bar Framing - (D)

The lower deck plan (E) shows the top view of the lower
deck assembly. Before cutting the lower deck surface boards,
make sure that the bar frame is square on both sides. It is the lower
deck boards that keep the bar framing square.

Under Bar - Lower Deck Plan - (E)

The bar top is made from a single piece of 3/4" plywood cut to the shape
of the bar top. The painted Mexican tiles that I used for my outdoor bar
furniture are close to 4 inches square, but are more irregularly shaped than
the tiles you might buy from Home Depot.

Before cutting the plywood for the top, I laid out all of my tiles on
the 3/4" plywood so that I could decide how I wanted them positioned and
how much space I needed to leave between the tiles. Once
positioned, I marked the location of each tile on the plywood with a
pencil before gluing them in place.

After the glue had dried and the tiles were firmly in place (24 hours
or more), I used a dark gray grout to fill the space between the tiles.
The space between the tiles varied between 1/8" and 3/8" due to the
irregular shapes of the hand painted Mexican tiles.

The dimensions (F) are the outside measurements of
my bar top after I added the 1x2 trim.

Bar Top - (F)

Outdoor Bar Furniture

Finish: All Western Red cedar should be sealed with a
cedar stain/sealer of your choice. The plywood used for the under deck
work surface and the 1x2 oak trim should be protected with three coats of
polyurethane.